Heritage Fire, Snowmass Village’s live-fire food event, scheduled for August 1, has been cancelled this year due to current fire restrictions throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.
For the past decade Heritage Fire has brought together family farms, chefs and local residents to celebrate live-fire cooking. Vendors bring the best from their restaurants — from seafood to meats to desserts.
But because of ongoing fires and dry conditions on the Western Slope, there are Stage 2 fire restrictions in place, preventing the live-fire cooking that is integral to the event.
“Heritage Fire has always been about celebrating live fire cooking,” said Sara Stookey Sanchez, Public Relations Manager for Snowmass Tourism.
“It feels a little disingenuous in a stage two fire restriction to have an open flame on Fanny Hill.”
Stage 2 fire restrictions have been in effect in Pitkin County since June. Under these restrictions, fires are only allowed in designated fire grates at developed recreation sites, in permanent fire pits or fire rings at private residences enclosed in steel or concrete. Fireworks and smoking outdoors are also prohibited.
Stookey Sanchez said organizers asked vendors if they could cook over propane instead, but there was not a lot of interest among the chefs.
“We just weren’t getting a lot of buy-in from the chefs because it’s easy to do that,” she said.
“It’s harder to cook over open flames. So, we just wanted to make sure that the spirit of the event was maintained.”
Other events, that do not involve live fire, will take place as planned next month in Snowmass Village, including the Snowmass Tree-O Run and the Plein Air Festival & Art Sale.
Stookey Sanchez also noted that the wildflowers in Snowmass Village are at peak bloom right now.
“All the hiking and biking trails are awesome right now,” she said.
“The wildflowers are still really beautiful. The fireweed, the purple one, is insane on all the trails.”
The Snowmass Balloon Festival in September will also continue as planned for now, but that could change depending on fire conditions.
Heritage Fire will return in 2027.
